


Evading Desperation

by AwesomeSauce010



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Isolation, Pre-Hogwarts, lonely hermione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeSauce010/pseuds/AwesomeSauce010
Summary: Hermione Granger has one absolute belief - books are better than people. But does she really believe that?
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Books
Kudos: 2





	Evading Desperation

**Author's Note:**

> I love Hermione Granger and wanted to write something about her. This is my version of her childhood. I tried to stay as in-character as possible... I hope I did okay.

Life was strange, and not pleasantly. A lesson ingrained into Hermione Granger's head since she was merely four years old. Observation became the key component to her survival as a result of the lack of interaction. For the longest time, she assumed nobody liked her simply because there was something wrong with her. She didn't understand it, and put in valiant effort to bettering herself for everyone's benefit. At least, this is what she tried to convince herself - deep down, she knew that her actions were purely selfish. 

She was lonely. Nothing more, nothing less. 

By the time she was seven, the strange happenings began. It started out small, but still frightening. In her logical mind, anything unexplainable is a danger. 

She was talking to her father about his new job. He had finally been hired alongside his mom, and now they were both dentists. She found it funny that they would work together, and asked if him if kissing was part of the criteria. He had laughed and said that no, but they would probably 'get down to business' despite that. She fake gagged at him. 

However, she also had some concerns that needed to be voiced. She asked, since her mom's job was usually in after-school hours, if they would be home around that time. He sat frozen, before reluctantly saying that they would both be gone. On the bright side, he mentioned that she would have the house to herself. He trusted her, complimenting her maturity. This did nothing to ease her nerves. 

As he was leaving, the door shut without him touching it. For a moment, he stared at the door suspiciously, searching for malfunctions. Finding none, he shrugged and left. Clearly, he must've thought it was the wind. Hermione knew better. She knew she had done it. The question: How? 

She had just started reading chaptered children's books, and wondered if she was ready to read books on a more scholarly level. Despite knowing she might not of been able to at the moment, she tried. She dived into books about simple matters, anything to explain what had happened. Over time, and with the larger terms that she was slowly starting to understand but held no explanation, she thought that maybe it was just an illusion on her part. 

Except, there was more happenings. And as she got older, they got more frequent. There was no way it could've been a coincidence. Not when even her parents starting noticing. Not when on her 9th birthday, while she was quivering in anticipation for her once-a-year semi-sweet cake, it exploded when her heartbeat was at its peak. Even her parents couldn't deny it, but they just weren't too eager to believe something that didn't have a scientific explanation. 

But she knew, and she was going to find out what it was. For the first time, Hermione Granger didn't feel alone. She had gained companionship, just not the in the expected way. Her books became her friends, and her curiosity their bond. 

Unknowingly to her, her newfound reading obsession had begun to worry even her parents. She hardly acknowledged them anymore. Gone was there daughter, and in her place a girl who no longer needed them for anything but finances. Her mother wanted to assume that Hermione had finally found a friend. After paying attention, however, she found this was not the case.

Her sweet little girl had become dependent on books rather than people, and may of even felt that she no longer needed people.

Meanwhile, Hermione continued to devour every book she could get her hands on. She needed to know the cause of the strange happenings, after all. Perhaps not just the cause of that, but the cause of _everything_. How were mirrors made? How did the human mind work? What was the average amount of bricks it took to build a school? 

The possibilities were endless, as was her excitement. 

Nearing her eleventh birthday, both of her parents at work, she stuck to her daily routine of checking the mail. Walking towards the mailbox and skimming over its contents, she was surprised to see a letter addressed to her. Nobody sent her letters. Why would they? She didn't have any friends, nor did she need them. Books were much better than people, and more reliable. 

Rushing back inside, she put the rest of the mail on the dining room table, eagerly bringing her letter to her room. Tearing the envelope open, she read through its contents and felt the familiar rising of her heartbeat. To some, it would be a surprise at how quickly she was to accept the letter as reality, but it offered an explanation. 

Logical? Surely not, but using logic, no one would prank her. She knew that everyone mostly ignored her now, except her teachers. Sometimes the students would occasionally make fun of her behind her back, and might prank her because kids are cruel. Yet, she knew they didn't have her address. They were hardly clever enough to find it through the system, and she never told them. 

That, and maybe she was desperately clinging to a chance. As much as she would deny it, she did desire companionship.

And not just in books. 


End file.
